My first ever blog post was about Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I loved the book's thrilling and mysterious plot line and fantastically developed characters. When I heard that Veronica Roth had written a prequel of sorts to the series, I had to get my hands on it. Fouris a collection of mini-stories that tell the tale of Tobias Eaton's transformation from Erudite to Dauntless to Divergent. Although it is not the most loquacious or descriptive novel, it stayed true to the Divergent series and will certainly please fans of Four and Tris.

The Divergent series is written completely in the point of view of Tris Prior. However, author Veronica Roth completely changed up the perspective of many memorable events from the novel and compiled them in a collection, titled Four. It takes place over a time period of about three years, starting from Tobias's betrayal of his previous faction and ending with the upcoming revolution (which is at the beginning of Insurgent). Four gives readers insight to his relationships with his faction members and his thoughts on Dauntless in general.

One of the downsides of Four is that it seems like an afterthought to such a brilliantly written trilogy. The novel includes minimal description, and it reads more like a play-by-play of events than a novel. Veronica Roth missed out on the "show, not tell" idea, and she stated what happened over time instead of focusing in on specific moments. However, I will take what I can get because I love how Roth still had enough ideas left in her Divergent toolbox to craft another book. If only J.K. Rowling would do the same with Harry Potter!

Theo James, who plays Four in the Divergent movies

Reading about about certain events from Four's perspective instead of Tris's was interesting. He had a different viewpoint about his own fear landscape, and reading about how he fell for Tris from the male perspective was enlightening. I wish that Roth would have focused more on Four's relationship with his father because nothing was ever resolved. Also, I kept waiting for a different ending to the novel, and it seemed like it was cut short. It should have taken place over the span of all three Divergent books instead of disjointedly covering one and a half of them.

I would certainly recommend Four to any die-hard Divergent fans because they will not be disappointed. On the other hand, if you haven't read the series, stay far away from Four. You will be completely confused by the characters and events in the novel. Some events are alluded to but never explained, such as when Edward was stabbed in the eye. I repeat - if you haven't read Divergent, or at least seen the movie, DO NOT read Four. If you have read Divergent and enjoyed it, though, definitely check out Roth's addition to the series.

1 comment:

OOoh nice! I still need to read this one myself! I read the first novella ages ago when it first released digitally, but then bought this one when it released as well. Haven't had time to read it but plan to! And I so love see that picture of Theo! I love that man! ;) Great review!

About Me

Hi! I'm Katie, a college student who loves to read. I enjoy almost every single book that I read, but my favorite genre is fantasy. I was on the 2013 Intermediate Nutmeg Nominee selection committee. I also enjoy playing college basketball. This is my first blog.